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BAKI THE GRAPPLER: THE LAST BLOOD (VOL. 12) |
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Thursday, 29 March 2007 |
 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT | | | ▪ | ASPECT RATIO: | | 16:9 ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN | | | ▪ | AUDIO: | | ENGLISH DD 5.1 & 2.0 AND JAPANESE DD 2.0 | | | ▪ | RUNNING TIME: | | 100 MIN | | | ▪ | RATING: | | TV PG | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 02/27/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 03/30/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | HOLLY ELLINGWOOD | | |
The final volume of the muscle-bound series sees Baki facing off against his own half-brother in a match to the death. The underworld fighting tournament needs a champion and the toll will be in blood as these to behemoths square off and old grudges come to the fore with everything on the line. Let the final match begin!
This is it, the final episodes of the intense fighting series Baki the Grappler. It ends with a momentous battle between Baki and Jack. They’ve have both agreed to a death match where only one will walk away alive. What Baki couldn’t anticipate is the wrath Jack holds for their father and his intention to take his rage out on Baki. As these two forces of nature collide, the match is one of the most grueling witnessed in this entire series. Never have the stakes been higher for Baki and the fight soon turns desperate. When Jack unleashes his vicious biting attack, blood litters the sand and the fight hits a whole new level of punishing violence.
It is during this crucial fight that the viewer gets to learn about Yujiro in his early years. The anime shows him in flashbacks to when he was only 16 and how he met Jack’s mother. We witness his goal to be stronger than the entire armies he faces in the jungles and wherever war is fought. It was way back then that he first garnered the notice of Strydum and the US forces as he decimates them. Through these scenes we see how he was pretty much always a merciless psychotic killing machine with his only thoughts on how to be stronger than everyone and anyone else, no matter the cost in lives.
Baki, unlike his father, is all about heart as well as strength. It becomes a pivotal weapon in his fight to not only try to win this match as champion, but to survive it. When the end comes, it is with more than one surprise, and more than one unexpected audience member watching from the shadows.
From there, the anime does something unusual; it finishes the series with a bonus episode focusing on a secret chapter from the early life of Yujiro. We see him at 18 making the powers of the UN and the US forces bow to him. The purpose of this episode after the emotional climax of the last one seems a bit out of place here. It would have been best to have ended with the high note of Baki and his life and that of his friends.
The other unusual thing about this anime series is the disclaimers during the beginning of each episode letting the viewer know directly that the episodes differ from the manga series. I’ve never come across this before but it is a forthright and appreciated addition to let viewers know in advance that it, like many anime series, differ from their manga roots however small or large.
The opening theme song is heavier thrash metal than the first season with some 3D CG animation during the sequence. The overall animation of the series remains similar to the previous season with its brutal fight scenes and severely muscled monoliths of martial arts strength and endurance. The fights are not only brutal but merciless. A lot of blood goes spurting out, teeth go flying, and sometimes other body parts too. With Jack using his teeth attack, the bout between him and Baki for the championship turns especially vicious and ugly. It’s everything a fan of fighting anime will love.
EXTRAS:
Bonus features include FUNimation trailers of other titles, Baki the Grappler stills, clean opening and ending animation, and episode summaries.
IN SUMMARY:
The final volume of Baki the TV series reveals Yujiro’s twisted and violent past and Baki’s final, punishing match to try to win the championship belt for the Underworld Fighting Tournament title.
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